Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Chinese warships enter West Philippine Sea

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Chinese naval
vessels entered Philippine waters on February 1 amid efforts by the
Philippines to peacefully resolve its territorial dispute with China in
the West Philippine Sea through arbitration in the United Nations.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday that a naval
fleet of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) entered the West Philippine
Sea "for patrol and training missions" this week.

Xinhua said the three ships from the PLA Navy's North China Sea
fleet-the missile destroyer Qingdao and missile frigates Yantai and
Yancheng-traveled through the Bashi Channel, an international sea route
between Luzon and Taiwan, before entering the West Philippine Sea at
11:40 a.m. on Friday.

The report said the training exercises would be held within Chinese "territorial waters."China claims almost all of the West Philippine Sea, including parts
close to the shores of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and
Taiwan.

UN arbitration

The Philippines has protested Chinese incursions into waters within
its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but China insists those waters are
part of its territory.Last month, the Philippines took its dispute with China to the United Nations for arbitration.

The Philippines asked the United Nations to declare invalid China's
claim to parts of the sea that are within the Philippine EEZ.

Manila also asked the United Nations to stop Beijing's incursions into Philippine territory in the sea.

It is not clear whether the Philippine action can proceed without China's participation in the arbitration.

China refuses to bring its territorial disputes with its neighbors to
any international forum, insisting on resolution through bilateral
negotiations.

US support

A congressional delegation from the United States that recently
visited Manila, however, expressed support for the Philippines' decision
to go into arbitration in accordance with the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it decided to take the dispute
to the United Nations because the government had already exhausted all
other options.